Brake-operating device.



I LL-A. ANTHONY BRAKE OPERATING DEVICE. 7 APPLICATION FILED AIPR. 23,1913. 1 19 5191 Patented Sept, 1, 19.14.

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5] n newton fOkm/l. did/10(2) Patented Sept. 1, 1914.

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4 0 m I r w /imeomzq 639 v JOHN A. an'rnonr, or CHARLESTON, scorn canomna.

BRAKE-GFERATING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Fatent.

Patented Sept. it, 3914,

Application-filed April 23, 1912. Serial No. 763,089.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that LJor-m A. ANTHONY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charleston, in the county of Charleston and State of South Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Brake-Operating' Devices, of which the-following is a specification.

The present invention relates to brake operating devices.

In carrying out my invention it is my purpose to provide a simple, heap and efiiective device which is arranged adjacent one side of the railroad track and which maybe operated by a semaphore or by a suitable lever and which. is adapted to co-act with suitable mechanism upon an engine or coach that is supplied with an air-brake system, and which is adapted to open a normally closed valve to bleed the air pipe and to applv the brakes,

provision of brake operating mechanism which includes a valve connected with the train pipe of the air-brake system, and which is provided with an extending stem upon which is arranged a longitudinally ad justable throw arm that is provided with a vertically adjustable member whereby the said arm may be properly adjusted, so that the said throw arm is properly positioned for contact with a striker arm ranged to one side of the track and slid into operative position either manually or automatically by the operation of asemaphore.

A further object of the invention is the provision or means arranged upon a striker arm which is adapted to cooperate with a throw arm arranged upon the stem of an air bleed or outlet valve which is connected with an air-brake system, whereby the sliding movement of the striker arm will be regulated, so that the same cannot be moved be yond proper contacting position with relation to the throw arm. so that the said striker arm will not contact with any engine or coach and be injured by such contact.

'ith the above recited objects in View, and others which will appear as the nature of the invention is more fully understood the improvementresides in the construction, combination and. operative arrangement of part of the parts set forth in the following specification and falling within the scope of the appended claim.

The essential features of the invention involved in carrying out the objects above in dicated, are necessarily susceptible of embodiment in various forms of construction without departing from the scope of the invention, but certain preferred and practical embodiments are exemplified by the accom panying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 IS a side elevation of the portion of an engine to'which my improvement is attached, and illustrating the throw mechanism arranged to one side of the track, Fi 2 is a detail transverse sectional view taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken through the bleed or air exhaust valve and thethrow arm attached to the stem. or the valve, Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken through the line Jri of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the stem of the valve, Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the valve, and Fig. 7 is a detail section upon the line 2-2 of Fig. 3.

As is well known to railroad men the semaphore signals in inclement and hazy weather are at times hardly discernible by the engineer, and as a consequence fatal wrecks have occurred. There are other con ditions which have been known to exist wherein the engineer makes a mistake in the signals and does not apply the brakes in time to avert a collision with a train within his block, among which may be cited, the sticking or nonworking of the engineers valve; the disconnection of the throttle; the apprehension of the engineer that he has already operated the valve, and other such like circumstances which result in head-on, rear-end or side-wipe collisions and the resultant fatalities to the train crewand passengers.

It is to he therefore considered the priniaryobject of the presentinvention toprocoach as to prevent the same being inter exterior or the engine or upon a T of this arrangement willbe. presently set the train'is in motion.

In reducing my improvement to practice, I provide the main air pipe of the train line with a T-coupling 1, the same being. provided with a branch pipe 2 having a regulating valve 3 and having a bleed or exhaust valve 4. The mechanism is attached at an convenient point to any self-propelled vehicle, but in the showing of the drawings I have illustrated the same applied to a loco motive engine.- The bleed valve a may be integrally formed with or otherwise pro--;

vided .With longitudinally extending straps which. may be bolted or otherwise secured to the frame of the engine. The valve t-h as its plug 5 provided with a port 6 which is nor-*- mally arranged transversely of the valve casing, so that the said valve is normally closed. The outer face of the valve l1fl$1il3$f flange or'collar provided with a plurality of depressions forming teeth7, and the said flange is provided; at a-suitable point-with an enlargement 8 having angular walls which provide stops 9 and. 10,, the purpose forth.

- Secured to or integrally formed with the t plug 5 is a stem x11, and the said stem, .ad- 2 jacent its juncture with the plu'g'i s provided with a spring pressed dog 12,"'-the said .dogg adapted to co-act withthe-teetlti'ittov I 'curely lock the valve ,in an Open position;

and to assist in retaining the valve in a closed position as willbe; presently under- 3 stood. The stem,'at its juncture ;-vvith'the' spectively, and the stop 13 is adapted to? engage with the shoulder, 9 whenthe stem and plug are rotated. tojopen' the valve,-

While the stop 14: contacts vwith the shoulder 10 when the valve is in its closed position. The stem 11 is square or angular in cross section and has one of its sides serrated transversely or otherwise provided with teeth 15. Y

The-numeral 16 designates a throwarm for the stem 11. The throw-arm 16 has one of its ends enlarged to provide a head 17,

the said headbeing formed with a'bore or opening 18, the walls of which conform to the cross sectional contour of the stem 11. The head is provided with a threaded opening 19 which communicates with its bore, the said opening being adapted for l f. As illustrated in so, when the binding nut 20 properly engages with the stem the throw arm is effec- .tively' sustained against longitudinal or lateral movement with relation to the said stem) The throw arm 16'comprises a pair "of members-23 and 24: respectively. The

upper portion of the member 20' is provided with the head above referred to, and the said arm has one of its faces,'preferably-its outer faceg-formed with a rectangular depression 25, the inner "wall 26, provided by the said depression, being formed @With transverse teeth 27 and the said inner wall is further provided withlan elongated slot'. or opening 28. The member-124 of the a throw arm is of a width adapted to be snugly received within the pocket,'the said member 24 having its inrier face-provided i that the member 2 may be adjusted ver- 1 tically of the, member 23 ofthethrow arm .16, and jfromfthe arrangement previously ,described the said throw arm may be adz justed longitudinally of the stem 11 of the valve. The lower extremity of the member 24 has one of its edges curved, as indicated by the numeral 32.

yond'the track over which the train passes to'permit of the throw arm 16 being disposed to the outer sides of the track. The throw 'arm,- when properly adjusted-upon the valve stem' 11, has its curved end disposed in the path ofcontact with a striker arm 33. This arm is slidably mounted within a suitable'housing 34 that is secured preferably to. one of the ends of the ties which project beyond the'rails. In the preferredconstruction of the striker arm and housin the 'said arm 33 comprises a substantially rectangularumernber, the upper Fig. a or the drawings a r the stem 11 is arranged transversely. of'ilzjhea n i and ro'ects desired distance eplug 5 is provided w th'opposltely arranged E e g me p 1 a shoulders or stop members 13 and 1,4 re- I- edge of which being rounded, as at 35, and

the inner endofith. said arm is bifurcated as at 36. vThe-housing 34' is constructed of some heavy. metal, and comprises a body 37 having sidejflanges 38, the said flanges being. sufficiently spaced to engage with the opposite sides of a tie 39, while the'lower faceof the said housing between the flanges rests upon the-upper face of the tie 39. The

flanges 38 are provided with suitable openings for the reception of securing elements, preferably in the nature of lag screws 40, and the sides of the housing, above the flanges 38 are preferably beveled or inclined toward each other, as indicated by the numerals 4] 'or channel 42 which forms a passage for the throw arm 33. The lower wall. of the passage 42 is provided with transversely arranged depressions 43 for the reception of anti-frictional rollers 4A upon which the lower edge of the-arm 33 rests, and whereby the said arm may he slid within its passageway at a minimum amount of friction.

I The numeral 45 designates a removable top for'the housing. This top member 45 has its lower face centrally formed with a longitudinally extending groove or depreision 46,- the same providing a rounded wall which corresponds to the shape or" the rounded upper edge of the throw arm 33.

The top 45 is recessed to provide a lubricant chamber 47, the said chamber having its lower wall formed with a plurality of ports 48 which communicate with its depression 46, and'thus deliver the lubricant centrally of the-upper rounded edge of the arm 33, so that the said lubricant will flow to the opposite sidesof the arm as Well as to the bottom wall of the passage 42. It will thus be noted that both the sides and top and bottom ofthe striker arm are properly lu bricated, so that a free movement of the said arm is assured. The lubricant chamber is closed by a hinged cap 49, the said cap being sustained in such a closed position through the medium. of a suitablespring catch 50. The top 45 is provided with a plurality of bolt openings disposed adjacent its opposite longitudinal sides which are adapted to aline with threaded openings in the top of the housing, the registering openings being adapted to receive removable securing elements in the nature of headed screws 51.

Pivotally secured within the bifurcated end of the striker arm 33 is a rod 52 which has its free endpivotally connected, as at 53, with one of the arms of a bell-crank lever 54; The lever 54: is pivotally secured, as at 55, to a suitable upright 56, the said upright may, if desired, provide one of the walls ofa semaphore stand. The bell-crank lever 54 has its arm to which the rod 52 ispivoted provided with a weight 57, and the said weight rocks the bell-crank lever to force the striker arm 33 outwardly of the housing 34430 arrange the same within the path of contact with the throw arm of the valve 4:, and itwill be thus noted that the said throw arm 1S normally automatically arranged to. operate said valve to cause the automatic application of the brakes to the rolling stock. The free arm of the bellcrank lever may be provided with a rod 58 which has its upper end provided with a slotted enlargement 59, the slotof the said enlargement adapted to receive an offset end of a semaphore operating rod 60. It will, of course, be understood that the parts of the device eonnectedwith the upright 56, and if desired, the rod 52 as well as the housing 34, may be provided with suitable sheathings which will protect the same from the elements, and, as indicated by the dotted lines, in Fig. 2 of the drawings, a handlever 61 maybe employed "for operating the rod 52 and the striker arm 33. It has also been found desirable to provide the arm 33 with an adjustable element in the nature of a collar 62 which is adapted to abut with the outer face of the housing to limit the outwzird movement of the arm 33 from the said housing, so that the throw of the arm may be thus nicely regulated.

From. the above description taken in connection with the drawings, it will be noted that I have provided a simple, cheap, and thoroughly effective device for the purpose intended, one wherein the parts may operate automatically and which will properly apply the brakes when the engineer has either mistaken his signals or has failed otherwise in operating the engineers valve. It will be further noted that theteeth 7 of the valve 4 are arranged to permit of the spring pressed dog 12 ratcheting over the same whenthe stem 11 is rotated by the. throw arm lG', and also'that the said dog 9 will engage with one of the teeth to retain the plug of the stem in such position against accidental rotation, so that 1t is absolutely necessary that the engineer or locomotive attendant descend from the cab and operate the dog before the stem and plug can be rotated to close the valve before the brakes are relieved and the travel of the train resumed. The weight 57 actuating the striker arm 33 retains the said arm normally within the path of contact of the throwarm l6, and also it will be noted that by providing the valve casing. and valve stein with the stops, the rotation of the said stem is limited in either direction. It is also thought that the improvement and itsadvantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which such devices appertain without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what inner face of the depression being formed Lil with teeth, the second'me'mber having one -of its faces formed with-teeth and adapted tobe received Within the depression of the first mentioned 'memberwa' bolt connected with the second mentioned member and ex tending through the slot of the first mentioned member, and a nut for the bolt.

In testimony whei'eof I aflik my signature in presence of twoiwitnesses;

JOHN A. ANTHONY. Witnesses:

Wu. J. KOERTH, BENNETT S. JONES. 

